The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-04-11

GRANTS TO CORPORATIONS,

In one respect corporations are like individ-
uals-their gratitude is lively sense of favors
to come. When they want charter, grant
or valuable franchise, and the chance of get
ting it is at all doubtful they will make large
concessions to secure it. Once obtained they
never will concede point on the contrary,
they constantly reach out after more. If the
people of the country had understood this
trait of corporations generation or two ago
as well as they do now, it might have been
made enormously advantageous to them.
There is no estimating the value of franchises
which have been granted to corporations DUR
ing the last thirty or forty years, and granted
for nothing That is the public has got
nothing back in return except service that
has enriched the corporation with but little
regard for the rights or the convenience
of the public. Sometimes it has cost the cor
poration something to get its charter or
franchise through some Legislature or City
Council, but this outlay has been on individ-
uals and has not benefited the public. The
latter, as rule, has got nothing in return for
its grant. Railroad companies, street rail
roads, gas companies, telegraph and telephone
and many others have got all they wanted for
nothing. A wise foresight might have made
these franchises very valuable to the public.
A few exceptional cases show how easily this
might have been done. In the original char
ter Of the Illinois Central railroad a provision
was inserted requiring that company to pay
b per cent. of its gross annual earnings to
the State. The company was glad to make
1t now pays to the State every year more than
enough to cover the entire expenses of the
State government. Again, the Mary
land Legislature, in the orginial act
chartering street railroads in the city
of Baltimore, inserted provision
requiring every company organized under it
to pay to the city 20 per cent. of its gross re-
ceipts On fare Of five cents this amounts
to one cent on every fare. This revenue was
set apart for park fund, and it has enabled
Baltimore to purchase and improve Druid
Hill Park the finest park in the United States
next to Central Park, New York In Phila-
delphia the original charter of the gas COM
pany. granted fftyyears ago. contained pro-
vision that the franchise should expire in fifty
years from date and revert, together with the
entire plant, works, pipes, ETC., to the city.
The time has just expired, and the city now
owns the works and is receiving an
immense revenue therefrom. These are the
only instances of the kind within our knowl.
edge, but there may be others. They show
how easy it would be to make terms in adj
vance with corporations that are asking for
valuable franchises, by which the public
might get substantial equivalent. A fran
| chise that is worth millions or hundreds of
| thousands of dollars to a corporation should
not be given away, for, once surrendered, no
part Of it can ever be recovered The time to
| get the concession is before the franchise is
| granted Possibly there may be an oppor-
tunity before long of applying this principle
to some company seeking grant of natural.
gas privileges in this city.